One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant skullcap is to examine the USDA zone info for Benton.

Planting Calendar for Skullcap

Frost tolerance for skullcap:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Skullcap do not do well in cold weather which tells us that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant skullcap in Benton is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant skullcap and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your skullcap may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your skullcap indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Benton. It might get as low as 5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Benton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Benton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your skullcap if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Benton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Benton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Benton.